Before the year ends: a week in New York, a fortnight in the Far East. Almost forty hours of reading time. I find myself already imagining which voices to travel with: what might open under the long stretches of air and silence.
It has been a watershed year. A summer spent with Joyce: the sudden realisation of the brilliance of Ulysses. Falling into Virginia Woolf’s novels and diaries. Encountering the critical works of Gabriel Josipovici. The thrill of reading Don Quixote: a bright surface, almost incidental.
The turn of the year is arbitrary. Still: it offers a pause. I imagine reading more of Saul Bellow, the unread Woolf novels, the deeper folds of Kafka’s notebooks. Cynthia Ozick, Thomas Bernhard, Robert Walser, Marguerite Duras, Peter Handke: names that linger at the edge. Perhaps another attempt at Musil’s The Man Without Qualities. Perhaps, further off, the thought of Proust or Anthony Powell, revisited slowly, without intention.
I hope also to find new voices: the Reading the Girls List a quiet invitation.
Shared reading: once distant to me, now essential. The conversations around Madame Bovary, Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, and The Waves made reading larger, more continuous. I am grateful to Frances for the invitation, and look forward to reading alongside “The Wolves” in their selections for 2011.
Later this week: thoughts on ‘Vilnius Poker’. Reading folds the year inward: a kind of completion.
>This might sounds completely weird, but I always feel you are such an intelligent blogger. A perfect fit for bloggers such as Frances or Emily, I cannot help but be a little jealous and feel very much a teenager compared to your more "grown-up" reading. I wonder if I will ever feel ready to take on Ulysses, or Woolf. Maybe it will take a few more years, or maybe I am simply not made for those books? I don't know. Anyway, I like reading your thoughts on them. And I just wanted to let you know.
>If you'd asked me a year or two ago, Iris, I would have said precisely the same about Ulysses and Woolf. This year has been a watershed because after reading and loving Ulysses I feel ready to tackle anything. But, to be honest, in my first reading of Ulysses and probably Woolf's novels, I am sure I've only scratched the surface. There are depths there inaccessible to me. I'm a little jealous of those that have been privileged to study literature.You've written some kind words, Iris, thank you. You can't imagine how much I appreciate your comments. It has been great to meet you online this year, and read your words on the blog and Twitter.
>It sounds like you have had a fantastic reading year. I'm hoping to take on Ulysses next year since I will finally, finally be done with library school and have free time once again. I'm also stuck in the middle of Proust and hope to pick him back up again. I'm interested in tackling Musil sometime so I hope your reading goes well. I look forward to hearing about it. I also hope your travels go smoothly!
>Thanks, Stefanie. It has been a wonderful year for reading!